2008 Woodie Awards
Top Payroll Not Top in AL East
Pat Conroy Staff Reporter
Issue date: 4/21/05 Section: Sports
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Then there was the Gary Sheffield incident. A Boston fan took a swipe at the Yankee right fielder while the ball was rolling along the fence. This led to Sheffield taking a swing at the fan before throwing the ball in. ESPN.com has reported that the fan was not arrested or charged, but simply thrown out of the stadium. Gary Sheffield has refused to talk about the issue, leaving it unknown as to what his intentions are.
Police officers on the field are nothing new when the two teams meet. Everyone remembers last year's playoff series with the NYPD lining both sides of the field because of fans getting out of control.
Yankee owner George Steinbrenner has voiced his opinion on the team's poor performance so far this year.
"It is unbelievable that the highest-paid team in baseball would start the season in such a deep funk. They are not playing like true Yankees. I expect Joe Torre, his complete coaching staff and the team to turn this around," said Steinbrenner after New York lost to the Baltimore Orioles and watched their record fall to 4-8.
Fans aren't happy either.
"They aren't playing good at all. They definitely aren't going to play like this all year," said Todd Brownell, a senior from Hudson Falls, NY.
Joe Torre and Derek Jeter both agreed with the way that Steinbrenner felt and saw it as a wakeup call. The Yankees have had their problems closing out games, with their bullpen falling apart in the late innings.
The Sox have not been without their share of problems however. Manager Terry Francona was hospitalized for heart problems and as of recently has been back with the team. Edgar Renteria has not fully played to his potential this year, still adjusting to playing shortstop for Boston, making a couple of errors in the first series with the Yankees.
The Orioles are 8-4 as of Sunday and on top of the American League East. A great deal of this is due to their lineup. Sammy Sosa has been hitting well early this year, and Rafael Palmeiro has been having another good year. Miguel Tejada blasted his eighth career grand slam Sunday, and is proving himself to be an offensive force once again.
The Red Sox have moved to 7-5 on the year after sweeping the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Red Sox outscored the Devil Rays 19-3 in the three game series. With the win on Sunday, Tim Wakefield surpassed Cy Young in the Red Sox career strikeout list, with1, 343. Wakefield and the Red Sox held Tampa Bay scoreless in the last seven innings of the game to seal the win.
The season may be far from over, but there is a chance that the time for the Red Sox and Yankees to step aside is nearing and that having the top two payrolls no longer means being atop the American League.